The number of COVID-19 cases at the Boys State Training School in Eldora more than doubled during two weeks between July 28 and Aug. 11, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported. On July 28, the school was reporting 23 students and staff members had tested positive for the virus. On Tuesday, the Iowa Department of Human Services (IDHS), which runs Eldora, was reporting a total of 50 cases at Eldora, with 26 students and 24 staff members having tested positive.
The first case of COVID-19 at the state facility for male juvenile offenders was confirmed on July 20.
IDHS lists 20 of the 26 infected students and 17 of the 24 infected staff members as recovered in its Tuesday COVID-19 update.
Eldora houses approximately 70 students.
A total of 63 residents and staff at the other five facilities run by IDHS have tested positive for COVID-19 so far. IDHS lists 57 of those individuals as recovered in its COVID-19 report for Aug. 11.
The only IDHS residential facility besides Eldora to report more than five cases of COVID-19 is the Woodward Resource Center. Woodward, which provides training and support for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, has had 22 patients and 31 staff members test positive since May. All of the Woodward patients who tested positive are considered recovered, as are 28 of the staff members, according to IDHS.
On Wednesday, the Iowa Department of Public Health reported another 452 Iowans had been confirmed as having COVID-19 during the 24-period ending at 10 a.m. A total of 49,634 cases have now been confirmed in the state.
The department also reported another 12 deaths from the virus. The newly reported deaths bring Iowa’s COVID-19 death toll to 947.
According to IDPH, seven residents of Johnson County tested positive on Tuesday, as did 24 residents of Linn County. The positivity rate for the 161 tests IDPH reported for Johnson County on Tuesday was 8 percent. In Linn County, there was a positivity rate of 6.6 percent for the 366 tests reported on Tuesday.
IDPH’s 14-day average positivity rate for Johnson County was 8 percent on Wednesday. For Linn County it was 9 percent.
As of 10 a.m. on Wednesday, IDPH said 38,535 of the 49,634 Iowans who have tested positive for COVID-19 are considered recovered. The department considers anyone who tests positive to be recovered after 28 days, unless it is informed otherwise.
